"Lu Xi, you be the judge, who started this trouble first?"

Fang He crossed his arms, still angry about losing the argument. Honestly, Lu Xi insisted on pulling him away, preventing him from saying so many things.

Lu Xi looked at his puffed-up face, which resembled a little frog.

"You're a man, arguing with a girl, especially one younger than you, don't you feel ashamed?" He was younger than Huang Rong, and he treated her like an older sister, so he usually respected her and gave in to her.

Lu Xi's principles are quite simple. With people she likes, she can say more and more. With people she doesn't like, she can not talk to them or talk less. There is no need to express her dissatisfaction by arguing. She can simply ignore them.

"Hey, it wasn't me who wanted to argue, she just kept provoking me, what could I do?" Fang He spread his hands, his emotions somewhat agitated.

Lu Xi couldn't tell who was right and who was wrong. When others stirred up trouble first, he would either fight back or turn a deaf ear. When facing Huang Rong, he would choose to remain silent.

Everyone could see how much Huang Rong disliked Fang He. She would often find fault with Fang He and deliberately say hurtful things to provoke him.

Fang He's personality wouldn't allow him to remain silent, so he had no choice but to fight back. They argued back and forth, and their tempers flared up more and more.

“Fang He, you are older than us, so it’s not difficult for you to be more tolerant.” Lu Xi took the perspective of an older brother, focusing on calming things down when faced with conflict.

Fang He clenched his fist. From childhood to adulthood, he had always been tolerated by others. He had never tolerated anyone before, not even his parents, let alone a stranger.

“Lu Xi, if you say something unpleasant to me, I might tolerate it, but Huang Rong doesn’t deserve it. It’s a good thing I didn’t hit her.”

If Lu Xi hadn't stopped him, his slap would have landed on Huang Rong's face. Just thinking about it makes me feel sorry.

Lu Xi was speechless. There was no deep-seated hatred between them, so why be so aggressive?

He also realized that even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes, and he felt that he was not capable of mediating the conflict between them.

"I'm thinking about Dou Dou. If you can't get along peacefully, she'll be caught in the middle and it will be very difficult for her." Lu Xi's feelings became even more complicated when she thought of Dou Dou.

Ever since Fang He came to the shop, they have been troubled by his daily arguments with Huang Rong. They have tried to persuade them, but both of them are stubborn and inflexible, and neither of them will listen to them.

If things continue like this, I reckon Sister Dou Dou will fire Fang He.

Huang Rong came first, and she's a homeless girl, so there's no way DouDou would let her leave.

Fang He is different. He ran away from home in a fit of pique. Even if he leaves the tavern, he has somewhere to go, so there's no need to worry about him.

"Lu Xi, I think there's something wrong with you." Fang He's face wore a mysterious smile that made Lu Xi's scalp tingle.

"What's the problem?"

Fang He said smugly, "Do you like DouDou-jie?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Lu Xi shouted angrily.

He rarely speaks loudly unless his emotions reach an extremely high peak.

Fang He understood immediately. "If not, why are you so agitated?"

Such a strong reaction means he really likes DouDou. I never thought a little kid like him would develop feelings so early. It really makes me look at him in a new light.

"I didn't," he said weakly, like a deflated balloon.

Seeing Lu Xi so listless, Fang He felt a pang of guilt. He regretted his careless words that had embarrassed Lu Xi.

"I was just talking nonsense, you don't need to take it to heart," Fang He said, changing his words to avoid making Lu Xi think negatively.

Lu Xi didn't say anything, silently walked away, and returned to the kitchen to continue working as if nothing had happened.

Huang Rong, feeling wronged, returned to her room and lay on the bed, weeping bitterly.

She missed her father very much. If her father were here, he would never let her suffer any injustice and would definitely teach that brat Fang He a good lesson.

Huang Rong felt increasingly aggrieved as she thought about it, and tears streamed down her face as she cried uncontrollably.

Yuan Doudou was taking a walk in the yard with Tangtang in her arms when she heard sobbing coming from inside the house. She figured it was Huang Rong crying inside again.

"Anrong, are they arguing again?"

An Rong happened to walk over from the front hall, carrying a bucket of wine in each hand and putting it into the storeroom.

"I don't know, I just came back from outside," An Rong said calmly. Since Fang He came, he and Huang Rong had been arguing all the time, so there was nothing to be surprised about.

Yuan Doudou kept it in mind, thinking that this matter had to be resolved.

That evening, after the tavern closed, Yuan Doudou called Fang He into the room, intending to have a good talk with him.

"Fang He, do you know why I called you here?" Yuan Doudou asked deliberately, going around in circles.

Fang He stood straight, guessing what Yuan Doudou was about to say.

"Sister Dou Dou, just say what you want to say. I can handle it."

Yuan Doudou smiled gently, "I know you're a smart person, but I don't know why you, who are so smart, still argue with Huang Rong."

“She’s a girl, without parents, and has never been to school. She only knows a few characters. There are many life lessons she doesn’t understand yet. She’ll understand when she gets older.” Yuan Doudou went around in circles.

Fang He was completely confused, thinking she was going to tell him to leave directly, and wondered what she was trying to do by going through all this trouble.

“Fang He, Huang Rong is someone I brought back. I saw that she came from a poor background and suffered the pain of losing her father. If I don’t help her, the burden of life might lead her astray. You understand what I mean, right?”

Fang He didn't understand at first, but then it dawned on him what she meant by "going astray".

“A girl has very few choices. Now, my place is her only refuge, her temporary home. Your arrival seems to be affecting her place in this home.”

Fang He, confused, asked, "How did I affect her?"

"Before you came, she and Lu Xi were very close. An Rong and I once thought that they might become a couple in the future. But since you came, Lu Xi has become even closer to you, which inevitably neglects Huang Rong. She feels like she has become an invisible person who can be ignored. She feels bad and is stuck in a dead end. She attributes this awkward situation to your arrival and vents all her resentment on you."

Fang He was stunned. Just for this? This was too hard to understand. For such a trivial matter, he was verbally abused.

Women's minds are truly hard to fathom.

“I’ve thought about letting you leave, and that would solve the problem. But then I thought, if it’s not you, Fang He, it might be Li He or Zhang He. It doesn’t matter who it is, what matters is being able to resolve Huang Rong’s inner conflict.”

Fang He wondered to himself, "Why would she want to see him and untangle her knot in her heart?"